Occupancy
by Flashing The Floods
Summary: All it takes is one bad driver to throw a wrench in your plans for tacos.


**Author's Note: So the other day, my aunt and I were cruising along, headed to the store and whatnot. And then there was this lady driving in the lane next to us, and she was texting. Not only was she texting, but she held the phone right up in her face with both hands and she was steering the wheel with her knees ._. So that experience inspired this little piece of crap here. Could be considered somewhat a sister fic to that one other crappy oneshot of mine. **

"We should get food." Castiel grunted, rolling down the window and flicking out the butt of his dead cigarette.

"What kind of food?" Lysander spared him a quick glance.

"I don't know. Anything, I'm starving. How much farther do we have to go?"

"Not much farther. We'll be there within the hour...How do tacos sound?"

"Tacos sound awesome."

"We'll pick some up at the next exit." It seemed to Lysander that the purple van in the second lane was having trouble staying within the lines. He looked a little closer and saw that the driver was on her phone. She held it up with her elbows propped against the top of the steering wheel, eyes glued right to it. The road she was driving on was the very furthest thing from her attention.

"How can people be so irresponsible?" Lysander scowled in disgust and glanced away, his own attention on the road like it was supposed to be.

"Huh?"

His reply to Castiel was abruptly silenced by the deafening crack of metal on metal. The van smashed right into them, tires screeching like a wailing banshee as it sent the smaller car crashing into- and then tipping over -the guardrail. Glass broke and Lysander squeezed his eyes shut to protect himself and then it was some time before he opened them again.

When he did, there wasn't any more chaotic shattering glass or squealing tires or crunching metal. There was the regular beeping of a machine and a room that he had never been in, but was easy enough to recognize. He felt heavy and hazy and figured he was laden with morphine or something of the like. The intravenous needle in the arm that wasn't bound in bandages was as much of an indication as any.

"It's about time you got up. You had me nervous for a minute there." Castiel sat in a plastic chair against the wall, miraculously appearing completely unharmed.

"How long was I unconscious?" Even through the fog of medication, seeing Castiel was alright answered his first question and lifted an enormous weight from his heart.

"Nine hours." Castiel leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, chin in his hands.

"Holy shit." Lysander usually refrained from obscene language (rather distasteful, that was), but nine hours? Holy shit. Holy shit indeed.

"Leigh's here, by the way. With Rosa. She just convinced him to go get something to eat about ten minutes ago. He's been pacing all over the place and pulling his hair out."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, he's just really shaken up though. Don't worry, you're not dying or anything. They said you're gonna be just fine."

That was reassuring to hear and placated the slight presence of perturbation in the back of Lysander's dazed mind. He smiled slightly. "I wish I were as fine as you. You haven't got a single scratch on you."

Castiel cracked a small grin. "Your parents are here too, talking to some cops about pressing charges against that lady. Man, you weren't kidding when you said they weren't anything like you and Leigh. Are you guys adopted?"

"I seriously wonder sometimes." He almost asked about Castiel's parents, but decided not to. Someone surely must've tried to contact them at least, right? He wasn't sure whether or not they had phones on airplanes for emergency purposes but they should, shouldn't they? Even if Castiel was fine, being involved in a car accident was one of those things worth contacting parents for.

"Well, I guess I better go before I get kicked out." The redhead stood up and stretched very much like one of the felines he so vigorously disliked.

"Those 'family only' policies are irritating," Lysander breathed.

"Tell me about it." Castiel headed for the door. "I won't be very far though." He gave a casual wave and Lysander waved back, noting that his fingers were a relatively unappealing shade of violet and vainly hoping that wouldn't last long. Little cuts scissored across the violet-tinted flesh and he wondered what they were from. Probably the glass. It didn't really mater one way or the other, just an exercise to occupy his mind.

He wondered what his bandmates were doing. He and Castiel had been going to a gig when they were hit, Castiel filling in for another guy who had to cancel. At this point though, if it'd been over nine hours, Lysander could assume someone had informed them of the accident by now.

"You're awake!" Leigh was in the doorway one moment, very rumpled looking and very red-eyed, and then the next moment he was throwing his arms around his brother's neck as gingerly as possible and holding him close.

"Been awake for some time actually," he murmured, slowly leaning into the awkward embrace and figuring that knowledge might appease him. "I was just talking to Castiel."

Leigh's arms stiffened around his neck and then fell away. He then gently held Lysander's shoulders, expression incomprehensible.

"What?" Lysander questioningly tipped his head to one side.

"Lysander..." Leigh pursed his lips and gently squeezed his shoulders. His eyes shifted down and then up again, head shaking. Whatever he was trying to say, he just couldn't seem to get it out.

"Leigh, what?" Lysander frowned. Ice cold dread was slowly coiling in his stomach.

"Castiel's dead," Leigh finally blurted out, voice low and choked. "He died in the ambulance."


End file.
